Guilty Pleasures: Wrestler Flicks

I know as much about pro wrestling as I do golf, which is just about enough to fill a thimble with a little room left over. So when I saw the WWE films logo come up before The Marine, I grew slightly worried. It's not as if I thought that - sans a production company who made the XFL - Marine was going to be some sort of masterpiece: I was watching it for the sole purpose of gleaning some mind-numbing action from it.
Let me tell ya - that's what I got. Marine begins a little too patriotic for my taste, but the Freedom Fries are relegated to the first five minutes and the fact that larger-than-life John Cena is a marine thereafter looms about as relevant as his shoe size. Its fast-paced action and barroom brawl fights are coupled with enough explosions to make The Day After look like a fireworks show.
This isn't about Marine, though; it's about acknowledging two things: that pro wrestlers make decent action heroes, and that sometimes guilty pleasures like a mindless action flick are just what you need.
Vis a vis The Rock, who recently began using his real name, whatever that might be. Let's face it: The Rundown is a treat, through and through. It would make my Day of the Dog review, but with an IMDb score of 6.6, it seems there are at least some others who feel the same way.
Let us not forget, other wrestlers cum actors' works include: They Live, The Princess Bride, and Predator - all solid performances. Granted, films with wrestler/actors are not without their stinkers, such as Kane's See No Evil and pretty much anything with Hulk Hogan.
But - by and large - it's no surprise that pro wrestlers can act: what do you think they're doing in the ring? And you don't have to worry about them being fit for the alpha male role. Who didn't recoil when hearing they chose friggin' Beetlejuice to be Batman, and yet pro wrestlers already have the look of an action hero down cold.
Aside from the occasional fan proclaiming: "It's still real to me, dammit" for all the world to laugh at, most people understand that wrestlers are there to entertain, and it seems to lend itself well to the big screen, too.
So, if you're looking for a little escape from "thinking" films, consider giving a wrestler flick a go, and just enjoy the ride. It may be a guilty pleasure, but there's something safe and fun about these types of movies that lets you get away from how serious the world takes itself sometimes.